Posts Tagged ‘Butterflies’

Spring has sprung and already we’re seeing many more butterflies and bees than were about even last week. They’re wonderful insects, especially loved by us gardeners for the incredible work they do pollinating our crops. So let’s show them some love – by growing more wildflowers! Read on or watch the video for how to do it.

The Power of Flowers

Flowers attract all kinds of beneficial insects – not just bees and butterflies, but also predatory insects such as hoverflies and ladybugs. Together they help to boost harvests and keep common pests like aphids under control.

Flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen offer the most food for these insects. Wildflowers are best because they usually have simple, single flowers that are easier for flying insects to access. And it figures that native bugs will be more familiar with native wildflowers.

Take time to research which wildflowers are native to your region then check their suitability to the conditions found in your garden because you want your flowers to thrive.

Year-Round Flowers

Plan to have flowers throughout the year if you want beneficial insects to set up a permanent home in your garden. Shrubs such as witch hazel and sweet box flower from late winter, and let’s not forget the plethora of bulbs – snowdrops and crocuses, followed by daffodils, fritillaries and tulips. Native bulbs will naturally spread over time to become a permanent and very welcome feature of your garden.

At the other end, examples of late season flowers include sedums, ivy and colchicum (also known as autumn crocus).

Our Garden Planner includes a helpful selection of flowers, including several wildflowers, that are perfect for growing within a fruit and vegetable garden. Click the ‘i’ Information button next to the plant in the selection bar for details of their cultivation and suitability as companion plants to popular crops. Drop them into your plan, and see how easy it is to incorporate flowers among your edible plants.

Alternatively, select one or more vegetables in your plan and click the heart-shaped Companion Planting button to see plants that are beneficial to grow together.

Include Self-Seeders

Many wildflowers are self-seeders, meaning they naturally drop seeds that germinate and grow on with little or no intervention from you. This is a major advantage to growing wildflowers – often you only need to plant once for a lifetime of blooms. Once you become familiar with their seedlings you’ll find them easy to spot while removing unwanted plants takes very little effort. Many self-seeders, such as Mexican fleabane, will happily establish in cracks within paving or walls.

To introduce self-seeders in the first place, simply scatter seeds onto prepared ground then rake in. If you want to grow them among your vegetables, sow them in rows between crops or to the side of the plot as a ‘pollinator strip’. Alternatively, start seedlings off in pots then transplant them to where they are needed.

Create a Flower Meadow

Wildflower meadows are both beautiful and a feast for visiting bees and butterflies. By simply leaving an area of lawn alone through spring and summer – uncut, unfed and unwatered – you’ll be able to see if any wildflowers are already there. Then once you have seen what’s there you can easily supplement the display by planting plugs or bulbs of other wildflowers.

Another option is to sow a wildflower mix onto empty ground. Cornfield mixes are excellent for this purpose, providing a riot of color with an accompanying throng of insects mere months after sowing. Rake dug over, weed-free soil to a fine tilth then broadcast the seeds evenly over the surface. Rake again so the seeds are in contact with the soil then pat the surface down with the back of the rake. If it’s dry, water the sown area to speed germination along. The seedlings should appear within a couple of weeks.

You can mark out areas of wildflower meadow on your garden plan by selecting the meadow texture to fill in the desired shapes.

Wildflowers are great for bees and butterflies, and to be honest they’re pretty good for the soul too! If you have a favourite wildflower for attracting these beneficial bugs, comment below or head over to our Facebook and Twitter page.

Escape to tropical climes at RHS Garden Wisley to discover more than 50 vibrant species of exotic butterflies as they fly freely among the Tropical Zone of the cathedral-like Glasshouse. You have until the 4 March 2018 to plan your visit before the “Butterflies in the Glasshouse” exhibition closes.

The special guests will showcase their magnificent colours, patterns and form among lush plantings such as palm trees, bananas, bromeliads and climbers, as well as the aquatic plants that thrive in the warm jungle pool.

This year, enjoy new species of butterflies such as Graphium doson (common jay), a black tropical butterfly with pale blue wing bands, and swallowtail Papilio paris (Paris peacock).

Other favourites to see:

Magnificent Morpho peleides (blue morpho)

Master of camouflage Kallima inachus (orange oakleaf)

Brilliant green Siproeta stelenes (malachite)

Mr Fothergill’s is proud to have entered into a new partnership with The RHS to bring out a range of flower seeds and vegetable seeds for home gardeners. The extensive flower seed range creates beautiful garden displays with excellent performance. Additionally they have been awarded RHS’s perfect for pollinators, as the best source of food for pollinating insects. The vegetable collection, of 56 AGM varieties, includes excellent modern strains as well as much-loved, trusted favourites.

The RHS Award of Garden Merit is a mark of quality, awarded to garden plants with excellent garden performance. Each award is given only after a trial at an RHS Garden and judge by a team of experts.